By Nicholas Boer
TIMES FOOD EDITOR
A GIFT of homemade chocolates is always appreciated and --
even at this late date -- a genuine possibility. If all your gift shopping is
done, consider making truffles for a stylish holiday finish or New Year's Eve
treat.
Fortunately for us non-pastry chefs, a successful truffle
depends more on the chocolate than on the cook.
Some of the very best chocolate in the world is produced here
in the East Bay (San Francisco).
It would take a true lack of talent to make a truffle with
Berkeley-based Scharffen Berger chocolate taste terrible. If you can't afford
Scharffen Berger, keep it local and consider San Francisco's Ghirardelli.
The base for truffles is ridiculously easy. The master recipe
I use comes from "The Silver Palate Cookbook." It calls for boiling cream and
adding grated chocolate, Grand Marnier and soft butter. That's it.
The base's flavor is limited only by your imagination. Instead
of running out to buy Grand Marnier, let what you love or what's on hand inspire
you.
This year, I made three kinds of truffles. I used Cointreau
(another orange liqueur) along with tangerine zest for one batch. For another, I
replaced the liqueur with espresso and added a big pinch of Peet's ground French
Roast. For the third, I used Frangelico (a hazelnut liqueur) and some hazelnut
extract I happened to have in my pantry.
A winter coat
Once made, the base (called ganache) needs to be portioned,
shaped and coated before it can properly be called a truffle. But this process,
too, can be as easy as mud pie.
For the espresso truffles, I simply shaped the ganache into
balls and rolled them in cocoa powder.
For the hazelnut truffles, I formed the balls and rolled them
in chopped, roasted nuts.
For the tangerine truffles, I rolled the ganache in cocoa,
cooled them and dipped them in chocolate (see Temper, Temper.)
It was so easy that my girlfriend, Lisa, and I were able to
make eight dozen of each type in just one evening after supper.
Turning these into truffle packs of three, we had more gifts
than we had friends. Until we began sampling, that is.
Nicholas Boer is the Times food editor.
1/4 cup (or 1 cup) heavy cream
2 tablespoons (or 1/2 cup) Grand Marnier
6 ounces (or 11/2 pounds) best-quality chocolate
4 tablespoons (or 2 sticks) butter, softened
Powdered, unsweetened cocoa
1. Boil cream in a heavy pan until reduced by half. Remove
from heat, stir in Grand Marnier and chocolate, and return to low heat; stir
until chocolate melts.
2. Whisk in softened butter. When mixture is smooth, pour into
a shallow bowl and refrigerate until firm, about 40 minutes.
3. Scoop chocolate up with a teaspoon and shape into rough
1-inch balls. Roll the truffle balls in the unsweetened cocoa.
4. Store truffles, covered, in the refrigerator. Let truffles
stand at room temperature for 30 minutes before serving.
5. Variations: Mocha: Substitute espresso and a pinch of
freshly ground coffee for Grand Marnier. Hazelnut: Substitute Frangelico for
Grand Marnier and roll in chopped hazelnuts instead of the cocoa.
Per truffle:
60 calories, 0 protein, 5 g carbohydrates, 4.5 g fat, 10 mg
cholesterol, 0 sodium, 0 fiber. Calories from fat: 67 percent
